San Bernardino Train Crash: What Caused This 100mph Runaway Train?

San Bernardino Train Crash: What Caused This 100mph Runaway Train?

Published: September 24, 2026

Duration: 57:29

On May 12, 1989, Southern Pacific freight train 7551 rocketed down California’s Cajon Pass at over 100 mph before derailing into a San Bernardino neighborhood. Caused by fatal weight miscalculations and failing brakes, the crash killed four people and destroyed seven homes. But thirteen days later, a second catastrophe struck the exact same street when a damaged underground pipeline ruptured, igniting a massive inferno. This documentary investigates the series of tragic human errors, mechanical failures, and oversight lapses that led to one of the most disastrous chain reactions in American transportation history.

You can now become a History Hit member ri...